Chronicle Books Blog

David Choe was a big hit at Comic Con! David was set up in the Giant Robot booth to sign the new Munko Whales he created for Giant Robot, as well as his monograph that we just released.

The Munko Whales:

Giant Robot’s Eric Nakamura reports all of the details in his recent blog post.

David has now arrived in San Francisco for two events:

Tonight (Thursday, July 29) at SFMOMA (151 Third Street, 6:30 – 8:30 pm) followed by an after party at Temple (540 Howard Street, 9-2 am).

Tomorrow (Friday, July 30) at Giant Robot’s SF store (618 Shrader St., 6-8 pm).

David’s created posters to announce the book. You can see the series on his blog.

If you can’t make it to David’s signings, you can pick up your copy here.

Check out more Art + Design posts.

Patti Quill
Marketing & Publicity Manager

I first discovered Ed Roth’s
Stencil 101 before starting at Chronicle, when he was doing a demo of his stencils here in San Francisco. After stenciling colorful trees onto some scrap wood, I was sent on my way with a free plastic stencil of headphones, which I then used on various cards I gave to friends. Naturally, this propelled me to buy Stencil 101, and I used the stencils to decorate journals, cards, and anything else that I felt could be gussied up (and not with my un-steady hand).

Enter Stencil 101 Stationery. The package comes with blank cards, envelopes, and reusable stencils, making it one of the quicker and easier custom cards I’ve ever done. With just five minutes, I was able to tape the card down, paint the stencil areas with watercolor, and add my own message. Now, my visiting friend can have some temporary décor in her guest room.

Cute, no?

Find this and many more stencils in Stencil 101 Stationery.

Check out more Chronicle Craft posts.

Lisa Tauber
Editorial Assistant

If you give this recipe a try, enter to win a copy of the book by leaving a comment letting us know what you think (post a link to a photo if you can)!

Pistachio-Herb Pesto

This pesto is woven together with different herbal accents making for a complex topping. The crunchy texture and concentrated flavor create a dynamic crust for pork chops or sea bass.

1/2 cup roasted, salted pistachio nuts
2 tablespoons chopped fresh lemon-thyme
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil

Place the nuts, thyme, parsley, tarragon, garlic, lemon juice and Parmesan cheese into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until a coarse mixture forms. With the machine running gradually stream in the oil and blend until the pesto emulsifies.

Makes about 1 cup

Serving Suggestions
Generously spoon over grilled or roasted pork chops.
For a simple salad, thin the pesto with more olive oil, and spoon over thick slices of fresh heirloom tomatoes.
Paddle a thick layer of this pesto onto sea bass or halibut and broil or bake.

Purchase Pestos, Tapenades & Spreads.

Click here for more great recipes.

Peter Perez
Senior Marketing Manager

Chronicle Books’ main office is in a San Francisco neighborhood filled with large brick warehouses left over from a more industrial time. We ourselves occupy one such building. One of the things we love about our neighborhood is the old hand-painted signs we still see on many of the buildings and which we sought to emulate.

The short film Up There, produced by Mekanism, reminded us of how amazing the old art of hand-painted signage can be. Up There is shot in New York City, and shows the craft and hard work of a team of painters as they work on a large-scale advertisement for Stella beer.
 

Here in San Francisco, a group of designers and sign writers working under the moniker of New Bohemia Signs is doing its part to keep the old art alive and spread beautiful typography around the city. They paint on windows, walls, wooden boards, cars… and always the old-fashioned way with brush in hand, dipped in paint. They have an impressive portfolio, a great blog, and their Flickr page is sheer eye candy to any type enthusiast.

Jeff Canham, who hand-painted the cover title and slip case for The California Surf Project for us, spent some time himself at New Bohemia Signs.
 

A documentary film, called The Sign Painter, is currently in production about these fascinating craftsmen, designers, and artists. It looks like it’s going to be a great film, judging from the content on their website and the great images on their Flickr page, which shows many of the profiles in the film, like Jeff Canham and New Bohemia Signs.
 
Meanwhile, we’ll keep appreciating the hand-painted signs we see in our neighborhood, and will continue to use hand lettering in our books when right for the content. As much as we might love our computers, nothing can really replace the uniqueness and charm of a great hand-painted sign.

Suzanne LaGasa
Designer

Farewell for now, readers of the weekly Friday Art + Design blog post—I’m heading off on maternity leave next week! In honor of my imminent departure (and my seriously rotund form), I thought I’d share a little top-ten list of books I’ve enjoyed reading while pregnant—

Giggle Guide to Baby Gear —invaluable check-lists for all that baby stuff you need to beg, borrow, or steal (or, ok, buy or register for) before the bundle of joy arrives.

The Joy of Pregnancy —a lovely, warm, non-scary and celebratory general guide…if this isn’t already a classic, it should be.

Mixed —despite the fact that my own kid will be the whitest child ever, I love looking at this book and thinking about the wonderful diverse world she will grow up in. Not to mention—cute babies!

It Sucked and Then I Cried —hilarious frank memoir of pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum depression from beloved blogger Dooce.

Pictorial Webster’s—ok, so this one is pretty much just fun to look at any time, but it will be awfully nice for picture sharing with my daughter one day and making up stories about all the awesome stuff inside.

Baby Bargains—definitive source for figuring out which of the zillion strollers and car seats out there you should buy.

Andy Warhol’s Colors —my personal favorite art-and-design-themed board book for babies.

Lunch Poems —one of my all-time most beloved books of poetry, perfect for reading to baby in utero, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Polaroid Notes —so, not strictly speaking a book, but these make the perfect thank you notes…with images perfect for women, men, and children of all ages, and not too big so you don’t have to write too much!

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie—fiction-wise, all I seem to want to read these days is mysteries—in addition to a steady diet of Laurie King, Stieg Larsson, Alexander McCall Smith, John Burdett, and Donna Leon, I recently discovered this little gem with a story as good as its truly excellent title.

Bridget Watson Payne
Art+Design Editorial

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